my boy

photo credit: Paige MacCready

(better late than never) france photo diary

(in no particular order) my journeys from Bordeaux to Pyla to Normandie to Paris

1.) Glace de Berthillions, my favorite place to get ice cream in the whole wide world. It's a little café on the île Saint Louis in Paris. I got pear and vanille and Emmy got chocolat and Nutella.

2.) Café de Flore on Rue Saint Germain. We had amazing chocolat chaud avec notre croissants before wandering down to Christian Louboutin to buy shoes, but Karl and Choupette were nowhere in sight. (My dear friend Sheena Goldblatt of flirtlikeafrenchgirl.com told us he frequents this famous café!)

3.) A caramel fleur de sel macaron from Baillardran on Rue Saint Catherine in downtown Bordeaux.

4.) Au milleu de dessert at Ladurée. Can you tell how much I love macaroons?

5.) La jolie mer at Pyla. The fresh, salty scent of the Atlantic cured my homesickness during the beginning weeks of my trip.

6.) Rose garden at a weekend home in Normandie. Everything was so fresh and so green there; apple trees, rose bushes, even itty bitty raspberries and strawberries grew in the backyard of the aged cottage which was set against a backdrop of endless golden wheat fields. "Du blé, du blé partout; regardez!", Edouard would tell me. 

7.) Sacre Cœur, my second favorite church (following Sainte Chappelle). 

8.) Sitting on the top of the hill in Montmartre with my best friend slash sister Emmy, eating baguette sandwiches and people watching after a glorious morning of sightseeing and shopping.

9.) Bien sûr, la Tour Eiffel. The cold misty weather sent a chill through our bones while meandering around Trocadero after dinner at Carette with Sheena, but the rain slicked roads and hazy grey sky made for a perfect Eiffel Tower snapshot. 

10.) Ah, finalement- Rue Saint Germain. Me and Em had a blast staying in Le Quartier Latin. The shopping and the food was insane. Can't wait for next summer! 

Paris, tu me manques!

photo credit: me

caudalíe

(l to r) lip balm, beauty elixir, and purifying mask

These are three of my favorite Caudalíe products. I picked them up at a Bordelaise pharmacie this summer, and lately I've been wishing American drugstores would carry such magical liquids. Yet alas, we must make do with whatever paraben infested skin care items CVS and Walgreens deem acceptable to sell. Whatever I'm digressing. 

The lip balm and the mask are super, but the beauty elixir is beyond words and worth every euro (or dollar if you get it here at Sephora). It smells a bit like bitter orange peel but is also sweet because of the mint. Essence of rose and sharp rosemary are also present. Overall it is a very refreshing experience, splashing this mystical juice onto your face. It was a sad day when I squirted the last few drops from its etched glass bottle.